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that is still a big drop.
4.5.3 Retail sector dynamics
The volume of retail sales grew by 2.6% y/y in 2018. The pace of growth varied during the year, however, slowing to 2.3% y/y in December. After several years of contraction, Rosstat reports that the volume of retail sales increased by roughly 5% in the time period of 2017–2018.
The volume of food sales rose by 1.7% last year. The volume of retail sales increased despite lower household disposable incomes. This may be partly explained by the rise in sales of inexpensive goods as well as a distinct increase in household borrowing. The stock of household borrowing increased by 22% last year. However, most of the increased borrowing came from housing loans.
Online retail continues to boom. The share in online retail sales has already reached 4.5% of total retail sales and it is expected to double again in the coming years.
37 RUSSIA Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com
